Jude The Obscure

Lovely atmosphere with really nice staff. This place is really good should you enjoy ale as the selection is very wide. The food, well, standard defrost job, but not bad for pub eats — not gastro pub, for sure, but nice for what it is. More of a drinking place than an eating place. Certainly, as a watering hole, it’s a cosy, central, relaxing place.

Good ale, quality food and moderately priced. Excellent pub! (especially for students ;)

This is a spacious, if slightly impersonal, pub run by Greene King in this studenty area of Oxford. That said, its clientele, although including plenty of students, is pretty mixed. Staff seemed friendly and were very efficient.
A real plus point is the real ale selection: one my visit they had Greene King (IPA and the seaosnal Flanker’s Tackle), St Austell’s Tinners and Exmoor’s Hound Dog. They also do food, but we didn’t eat here, and the area has plenty of restaurants within a few minutes’ walking distance.
Worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Comfy armchairs and a name rooted in literary history, Jude the Obscure is a neat pub. I seem to not be aligned with their timing however, as I have missed their food service hours almost every time I’ve gone in there. It has made me go there less to be honest. The Jericho Tavern is next door, and in the spirit of competition, Jude the Obscure has yet to win me over.
On the other hand, it is quieter and, in some ways, comfier than neighbors. I think it deserves a chance, but it is sort of stuck in the middle as far as identity: not cooler, cheaper, open later, serving better food, or more anything than its competitors. Everything is good, but nothing is that much better.

Jude’s has a lot going for it. Outdoor seating (two tables out front and lots more out back), a good location, friendly clientele… so why does it have to ruin all that by being a Greene King pub? Granted, they do have some guest ales, but those seem to be hit or miss.
If you’re looking to people watch and lucky enough to grab one of the tables out front, Judes is a great place. If you’re more interested in a tasty beverage, I’d suggest going next door to Jericho Tavern.

If I lived in Oxford, I would be in here almost every night without a doubt! And get there early enough to stake my claim on one of those comfy armchairs, or maybe just sit in the beer garden and enjoy the outdoors the only way I know how.
Good food, great selection of beers and a lively, friendly crowd that will party until closing… you can’t ask for more in a great neighborhood pub.

This is a lovely friendly pub in the heart of Jerico. There are some real characters who frequent this place and all are very friendly. You can sit inside or if the temperature and weather permits there is a nice seating area but you usually have to fight for these with the people who want to smoke (fair enough!). The entrance to the toilets has so many posters and leaflets my hubby always comments on how long I have been and yet I have just been distracted by them. This is somewhere I like to visit for a drink or two before going onto the Tavern or the cinema but not one I tend to stay all night in

Jude the Obscure does everything you’d want a pub to do: food, drink and providing a comfortable place to meet friends. However, it doesn’t do these particularly well. The food is not served all the time; I’ve not quite figured out when exactly it is served, but it’s probably best to book in advance or to treat the food as a pleasantly surprising extra to your evening, rather than depending on it. Sometimes there is just a limited menu, which consists of burgers, although to their credit this includes a vegetarian option. The portions are generous and very tasty, but service is slow and dishes come out in all variety of orders regardless of who ordered first. Their Christmas dinner menu is good, especially with Pimms, but the seating arrangement at the back makes it awkward to have groups larger than 4 people per table, especially as it’s on different levels, so you risk plummeting off a step if you lean backwards. There have been a few incidents of staff being rude to students asking for tap water while ordering other drinks or food, but in my experience the bar staff are very friendly and chatty.